Politics 7 June 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Buganda Premier Clarifies Federo: Not Just a Baganda Desire
In a 1994 letter, Charles Peter Mayiga asserted that the push for federalism extended beyond Buganda, with several other regions across Uganda also advocating for the system, though Buganda's voice was more prominent. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/magazines/people-power/past-and-present-all-regions-want-federo-but-buganda-is-louder-mayiga-5487826
Thirty-two years ago, Charles Peter Mayiga, then the information minister and spokesperson for the Buganda Kingdom, penned a letter challenging the notion that the demand for a federal system of government was exclusive to Buganda.
Published in the Daily Monitor in May 1994, Mayiga’s letter argued that while Buganda’s advocacy for federalism might have been more vocal, other regions like Busoga, Bunyoro, Tooro, West Nile, Lango, and Acholi also supported the system. He attributed Buganda’s louder voice to proximity to communication channels and larger numbers.
Mayiga penned the letter in response to an article he perceived as taking an “anti-federal stance,” drawing parallels to the arguments used to justify the abrogation of the 1962 Constitution by Milton Obote. He dismissed the idea that federalism demands were solely a middle-class Buganda affair, viewing such claims as simplistic and echoing past attempts to preserve totalitarianism.
He countered the argument that federalism inherently undermined national unity and stability, suggesting instead that the period of unitarism, particularly from 1967 to 1986, saw a severe erosion of these virtues. Mayiga emphasized that true national unity is forged through democracy, which requires respecting and catering to the diverse values and interests of all people within a nation.
Furthermore, Mayiga referred those questioning the widespread desire for federalism to consult Justice Benjamin Odoki, who chaired the Constitutional Review Commission. He maintained that Baganda’s aspirations were not about secession but about operating as a distinct unit, consistent with historical administrative structures, and that Buganda’s monarchy was rooted in the Kiganda Clan System rather than federalism.
Mayiga rejected the idea that the 1966 Buganda Lukiiko resolution, which requested the government to quit Buganda’s soil, indicated a desire for secession. He characterized it as a desperate reaction to the actions of a “despot” who disregarded constitutionalism and the rule of law, and detailed the political events leading up to that resolution, including the dissolution of the Kabaka Yeka/UPC alliance and the contentious issue of the lost counties.
This article is based on information from the Daily Monitor.